There’s little doubt in James Patrick’s mind when it comes to the moment when his Winnipeg Ice began their ascent to the peak of the Western Hockey League’s East Division.

From the time the 2019-20 season opened in late September through to the beginning of the final month of the decade, Winnipeg’s newly-minted junior hockey franchise had featured four different goalies between the pipes.

It wouldn’t be until No. 5 entered the fray that Patrick, the team’s bench boss, would finally find what he was looking for.

“At this level, he’s played to a level that we haven’t had on a consistent basis,” Patrick said on Thursday after his team wrapped an hour-long skate at their practice facility.

Patrick is referring to 20-year-old Kelowna-product Liam Hughes, a 6-foot-3 puck-stopper that’s completely changed the Ice’s fortunes this season, taking the unpredictability at the goaltending positioning and erasing it from Patrick’s vocabulary.

“I don’t know whether you call it a turnaround, (but) when we started, let’s say, playing a little better, Peyton (Krebs) got back but no one had a bigger impact than Liam,” Patrick said. “He’s been outstanding.”

Hughes took to the crease for the first time with the club two days after he was signed on Dec. 4. He’s since played 15 of the team’s last 17 games, amassing an outstanding 12-3-2 record with a .925 save percentage and two shuts in a little over a months’ worth of action.

His play as taking a team toiling with mediocrity and placed them in first place in their division. And what makes this all the more fascinating is that Hughes hadn’t played a meaningful game in just under a year before suiting up for the Ice for the first time on Dec. 6.

Hughes split time with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Lethbridge Hurricanes last season until he walked away from the game to deal with some personal issues in the middle of January. He wouldn’t re-emerge in hockey until Nov. 30 when he stopped 24 of 27 shots with the Drayton Valley Thunder in the Alberta Junior Hockey league. He’d be the back up the next night and three days later the Ice came calling.

“The first day I came here, it was really easy to fit in… everyone, honestly, was welcoming and warming,” he said.

Hughes stopped 23-of-25 shots in his first game with the Ice, providing the confidence he needed back at the WHL level.

“For myself, (getting) that confidence early and things went right for me early,” Hughes said. “Timing is key in hockey, and in any sport, really. Just kind of went with it, stayed confident and worried about what I can do and what I can control in my game and in my personality. That’s kind of how I’ve taken it here so far.”

Dawson Barteaux entered the fold for the Ice just under two weeks ago when the team acquired the defenceman from the Red Deer Rebels at the WHL’s trade deadline. In a short amount of time, Barteaux, a sixth-round pick by the Dallas Stars in 2018, has taken notice of the only man behind on the ice, including a skillset not always seen at this level.

“He’s almost like a sixth player out there the way he handles the puck, it makes us, the d-men’s jobs, so much easier,” Barteaux said. “It’s incredible. He’s probably one of the best in the league at it.

“He’s making all those big saves and then a couple more that maybe should scoot by him and he gets something on it. He’s been huge for this club since he’s been here. I kept an eye on him throughout the season and it’s nice to see him play as well as he has.”

‘Blessing in disguise’

It’s only half the battle to get to the top in sports. Staying there is where the real war lies.

With a one-point cushion separating themselves and the Prince Albert Raiders, and with the Brandon Wheat Kings’ nine-game winning streak putting them just three points back, the Winnipeg Ice are well aware that the aim in the WHL’s East Division is trained on them.

“Teams are gunning for us,” defenceman Dawson Barteaux said. “It’s almost a compliment when teams are bringing their best against you.”

And the best is coming, including a month-long span where the Ice will face some of the best teams the league’s Central Division has to offer across three road trips through Alberta.

The Ice will wage war with the Central-leading Edmonton Oil Kings, second-place Lethbridge Hurricanes and third-place Medicine Hat Tigers several times during that span. All three teams have better records than the Ice at the moment, but the Winnipeg-based club isn’t shying away from the fight.

“It’s almost a blessing in disguise,” Barteaux said. “It’s going to be a long end of the season, there are a lot of games in a short amount of time, but we couldn’t ask for any better of a way (down the stretch).”

Barteaux isn’t a masochist by any means. The Ice are gearing up for what they hope is a deep run in the playoffs, and the former Red Deer Rebels captain sees it as a great primer for the postseason.

“We couldn’t ask for it in any better of a way,” he said.

Head coach James Patrick feels his team will be able to better hone playing with a lead and playing late in a game.

“I think it’s going to be a real good test for us,” he said. “Can you fight through? Can you pay the price to get inside against a big defence? Can you stick with it, stick with it and not try and do something at one end that will hurt at the other end. I’m looking forward to the test to see where we are.”

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